Instead of a smoke pistol.....

I had looked at getting a smoke pistol but have read that they don't perform quite as reliably as what I was looking for. I really don't want to mess with tapping the pellets down in order to get it to smoke.

I did find a similar unit on eBay that appears to work off of the same principle but might be a bit more foolproof then the pistol. I ordered one today and will give it a try once received. Almost all of his recent feedback were people who purchased this unit so hopefully that's a good sign!

I worry about this type unit producing alot of the "unthinblue" smoke... eg incomplete combustion products, creosote being among them. Preburn the pellets a bit? I dunno... but check out that fog coming out of that puppy.

I understand where you're coming from. I wonder if it's simply a difference between burning real wood chunks vs pellets? He has a website here ---> http://porkypas.spaces.live.com/Pers...x?_c02_owner=1 That shows the smoke etc. He, according to his site, does the catering thing professionally so I would like to believe the results are good. I reckon there's only way to know for sure!

I figured I could spend $15 trying to make one or spend the $40 and get it already done. I know, where's my sense of adventure....well, with 4 kids my sense of adventure left a long time ago....along with my sanity!

Actually, I had contemplated it until I read one of his feedbacks where the guys states that he could not have made one this well. Anyways, I just received notification from USPS that I have a tracking number. So, hopefully I will be able to tell you first hand if there is blue smoke.

I tried a smoke pistol for the first time last weekend. I could not get it to work like I thought it should. It stinks having to open the door every 5 minutes to see if it's working, especially when it isn't!
The aquarium pump thing is interesting though......I was thinking about some way to get just a little forced air into it, and that just might work.

Heck it only looks like a 6 inch chunk of fence post and two post caps, one hose clamp and a threaded nipple. Probably has a screen of some sort to hold the chips in place and a small hole in the bottom with a barbed fiting to fit the pump hose on. Of course you still have to buy the fish pump.

Cold Smoke Generator

In response to your question about the position of the smoke outlet tube- it doesnâ€™t really matter too muchâ€™ but I found that Itâ€™s less likely to become blocked by pellets when positioned at the top. I recommend cleaning it after each use. Overall ,Iâ€™m satisfied with the unit, but am always thinking of ways to improve upon it.
SMOKE ON
Porky Pa http://porkypas.com

I don't see it that way. Pellets have long been used for smoking. From what I have seen, this box is no different then putting a cast iron pan with wood chunks in with your fire. It's an offset box design only the box is smaller then normal.